Twitter Co-Founder Thinks Facebook Should Charge Users For Ad-Free Version

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone has given Facebook advice on how to run its business. In a post on Medium, Stone suggested the social network should charge users $10 (£6.55) per month for an ad-free 'premium' version.

After taking a long hiatus from Facebook, due to being "overwhelmed" by the "thousands of settings, features and choices" that were added since it launched, Stone says he has realised the ads are not "useful or engaging." To remedy this, he believes they should offer a premium version, charging $10 a month to get rid of advertising.

In general, the ads on Facebook don’t seem particularly useful or engaging. However, ads on the service are universally tolerated because that’s what makes Facebook free and free is nice.

Anywhoo, now that I’m using it and thinking about it, I’ve got an idea for Facebook. They could offer Facebook Premium. For $10 a month, people who really love Facebook (and can afford it), could see no ads. Maybe some special features too. If 10% percent of Facebook signed up, that’s $1B a month in revenue. Not too shabby.

Would you pay for an ad-free version of Facebook? Do you agree with Stone? Share your thoughts in the comments.